The following speech by His Imperial Majesty Haile
Selassie I provided the inspiration for the timeless lyrics to
Bob Marley's classic anthem "War":

Were a real and effective disarmament achieved and the
funds now spent in the arms race devoted to the improvement of
man's state; were we to concentrate only on the peaceful use
of nuclear knowledge, how vastly and in how short a time might
we change the conditions of mankind. This should be our goal.
In saying this we are certain that it is the prayer of humanity.

When we talk of the equality of man, we find, also, a challenge
and an opportunity to bring men closer to freedom and true equality
and, thus, closer to a love of peace.

The goal of the equality of man which we seek is the very
antithesis of the exploitation of one people by another, of which
the pages of history, in particular those written of the African
and Asian continents, speak at such length.

Exploitation thus viewed has many faces. But whatever guise
it assumes, this evil is to be shunned where it does not exist
and crushed where it does. It is the sacred duty of this organization
to ensure that the dream of equality is finally realized for
all men to whom it is still denied and to guarantee that exploitation
does not reappear in other forms in other places whence it has
already been banished.

As a free Africa has emerged during the past decade, a fresh
attack has been launched against exploitation wherever it still
exists. And in that interaction so common in history, this, in
turn, has stimulated and encouraged the remaining dependent peoples
to renewed efforts to throw off the yoke which has oppressed
them and to claim as their birthright the twin ideals of liberty
and equality. This very struggle is a struggle to establish peace,
and until victory is assured, that brotherhood and understanding
which nourish and give life to peace can be but partial and incomplete.
On the question of racial discrimination, the Addis Ababa Conference
taught, to those who will learn, this further lesson; that until
the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior
is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; that until
there are no longer any first-class and second-class citizens
of any nation; that until the basic human rights are equally
guaranteed to all, without regard to race -- until that day,
the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule
of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion
to be pursued but never attained. And also, that until the ignoble
and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique
and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and
destroyed; until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman
self-interest have been replaced by understanding tolerance and
good will; until all Africans stand and speak as free beings,
equal in the eyes of all men as they are in Heaven -- until that
day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will
fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are
confident in the victory of good over evil.